


Fairytales

by defenderofjustice707



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: AU, M/M, ereri with plot, lots and lots of fun cursing, monsters all over the place, probably a few jearmin chapters, some ymirxchrista
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-01
Updated: 2014-09-28
Packaged: 2018-01-03 03:05:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1065004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/defenderofjustice707/pseuds/defenderofjustice707
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi stumbles across a forest he's not familiar with and can't seem to find his way out. When he meets a strange brunette with pointy ears and slightly green skin, will he be able to make it out of the forest, or will he become caught up in the dangerous happenings of the fairytale world?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lost

**Author's Note:**

> Hooray! A fairytale AU! And Ereri! I'm also posting htis on my account at fanficiton. com!  
> 

Levi didn't believe in the supernatural. He didn't believe in Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, or the Chupicabra. He didn't believe in faeries or witches or any of those things. He would scoff at stories of ghosts and dragons, and laugh at stories of elves and gnomes. Those stories were fine, but what real-world value did they have? If only he knew.

 

"Be safe on your way back!" called Claire, Levi's mother. (I'm using the same name for Levi's mother as in my last fic.)

"I'll be fine." said Levi, turning to leave. He was almost twenty, dammit, he didn't need his mother worrying about him. Those words remained unspoken as he walked out the door. He opened his car door and stepped inside.

He was going to pick up his brother, Irwin, at the airport. It was almost Claire's birthday and every year Irwin came back from Europe to celebrate. Levi cranked up the radio and headed out.

It was fine at first. The weather was clear, the traffic wasn't bad, and Levi was in a pretty good mood. He had cleaned his car that morning, and would, in all likelihood, clean it again that evening. Having done so, the car was spotless. Levi could really relax in a clean car.

Then, the weather started to turn sour, the clouds darkening and becoming thicker. There was still virtually no traffic, which was strange, considering that the airport he was headed to was usually busy. Levi jumped when his phone buzzed. He took one hand off the wheel and searched around for it. When he found it, without taking his eyes off the road, he flipped it open.

"Levi!" sang Hanji from the other end. He should have known it would be that shitty glasses.

"What?" asked Levi, his voice sounding harsh.

"Do you see this weather? Where are you, anyway? Aren't you going to pick up Captain Eyebrows?" she asked, the string of questions mashing together to form gibberish only Levi could understand.

"Yes." he said. He was almost at the airport. It looked like it was going to rain. He hoped Irwin's flight wouldn't be delayed.

"Can I come? I live close to the airport." Hanji said. He could hear her door opening.

"I can't say no, can I?" sighed Levi.

"No." she said, and hung up. Levi threw his phone into the passenger seat.

The sky was starting to look purplish. Was that a tornado? No, the sky looks greenish when it's a tornado. Levi sighed. He hated driving in the rain. Did the clouds normally turn purple when it rained? Levi tried to avoid driving in the rain at all costs, and basically avoided going outside all together, so he wouldn't have known the difference.

Finally, he pulled up to the airport. He walked in. Inside, Hanji was waiting for him, smiling like an idiot.

"Hey-ho!" she sang, slapping him on the shoulder as a way of greeting.

"Hey." he said. He glanced around the airport. No sign of his brother. So he had made it in time. Levi grimaced.

"What's that face for?" asked Hanji.

"This place is filthy." he said, scowling as he scanned the area. He glanced up at the board where they had the names of the flights, looking for Irwin's. When he found it, he cursed.

"Fuck." he said. "His flight was delayed because of the weather." Levi didn't want to have to wait so goddamn long for the weather to clear up.

"I guess we'll have to wait." said Hanji, sounding slightly disappointed. "But hey, I just got the next book in this great series and-"

"I'm going for a walk." said Levi, walking away before Hanji could ask to go with him. She stood in the doorway for a few minutes before shrugging and turning around.

There really wasn't anything near the airport, so Levi just chose one general direction and headed that way. He tiled his head back as he walked. The sky really did look weird. Sure, the sky turned orange at times, and sometimes even pink, but purple?

Levi didn't know how long he walked, only that his feet were beginning to hurt. He started to turn around, but he realized that he was in the middle of a fucking forest. How the hell had he walked into a goddamn forest without noticing?

"These are some damn hugeass trees." Levi observed to himself. He looked around. Which way was back? He looked around for something familiar, but he hadn't been paying attention when he was walking.

In his pocket, his phone started buzzing. It was Hanji.

"Levi, where are you? It's been over an hour." she said, taking no time for a hello.

"Are you serious?" asked Levi, kicking the dirt. He got some on his newly clean shoe and cringed. That was a bad idea.

"Where the hell are you?" she asked. "Irwin's flight's almost here."

"I'm in the middle of a fucking forest." he said. Saying it out loud made him realize how screwed he really was.

"A forest?" asked Hanji, sounding confused. "Levi, there aren't any forests around here."

"I walked for over an hour, remember?" said Levi, deciding to lean against a tree. Those trees really were huge. He could hollow one out an live in one if he wanted.

"Levi, we live in a city." said Hanji with an uneasy laugh. "Are you sure you're not hallucinating?"

"No." said Levi. This forest did look strange. The trees were too big, the ground was covered in weird plants Levi had never seen, and as Hanji said, they lived in a city. How the hell had he ended up in a forest?

"Well, try to get out safely, OK?" asked Hanji. "I'll wait here." And with that, she hung up. Levi sighed and shoved his phone back in his pocket. Now, if he could only-

"Who are you?" asked a startled voice from beside him. Levi jumped and turned.

The boy who had spoken was handsome. He had brown hair and emerald green eyes. He also had...

"Are those ears fake?" asked Levi, raising his eyebrows. He didn't normally judge strangers by their appearances, but this was weird.

"No." said the boy, self consciously touching his ears. They were pointed. And now that Levi looked at him, his skin was... green? A pale green, yes, but green all the same. Now that Levi looked at him, he was also shimmering. And did he have cat eyes?

"What the fuck-" began Levi, but a hand rested over his mouth.

"No time." he whispered. "Hide." The boy then proceeded to throw Levi into a hole he hadn't noticed before. Levi resisted the urge to shout when he heard voices talking.

"What was that?" came a muffled voice from outside. It was a low, rasping voice. Levi shivered.

"I didn't find anything." said the boy, avoiding the question.

"Then what was that weird smell?" asked the voice, sounding skeptical this time. "I definitely smelled a human." _A human?_ thought Levi. _Aren't you human? Man, I've run across a bunch of cosplaying weirdos. Or maybe they're role-playing?_

"I think a rabbit died over there. I can smell it's rotting carcass from here." said the boy. Levi heard footsteps and then the faint sound of gagging.

"Yep, definitely dead." said the voice. "But I definitely-"

"Maybe you were wrong?" suggested the boy. "Just because you have a strong nose doesn't mean it's always right."

"Watch it, punk." warned the other man. "I have the best nose of the whole pack." _Pack?_ thought Levi. _They really are role-players!_

"Whatever, Jean." said the boy dismissively. "Just go make out with Armin or something."

There was a bit of arguing, then silence. It was getting cramped, and Levi just wanted to gat away from these weirdos. Levi heard leaved crunching, then a slightly green hand showed up. Levi frowned, but grabbed the hand. The boy helped him out. Questions filled Levi's head, but he couldn't manage to from them as he stared at the boy. He really was pretty.

"Hello. I think we might have gotten off to a strange start." said the boy sheepishly. Now the brat was being shy?

"Oi, what-" began Levi, trying to sort out his questions. _Where am I? Who are you? What are you doing? The fuck? Are you single?_

"I'm sorry." said the boy, cutting him off. "My name is Eren. Hi. And if you don't follow me, and fast, you'll be killed. And I can't promise it will be fast."


	2. In Which Eren Explains, A Story is Developed, Levi Freaks out, and a Titan Appears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Titans take place of giants and I am not trying to get you to recycle or anything.
> 
> Super thank you to everyone who left kudos and comments! Please excuse any spelling errors~

For some reason, Levi followed Eren. He ran with him, his heart beating fast from the exercise. He must have been slow because Eren reached back and grabbed his hand, urging him to move faster. For some reason, Levi was OK with it. There was the sound of pounding footsteps nearby, so loud that Levi wondered what was making it. A machine? The ground almost rumbled with each step.

"What is that?" Levi finally asked, panting. Eren looked back, his gaze questioning.

"What is what?" he asked. Eren had a slight accent, Levi noticed. A strange one, almost Irish sounding.

"That sound." said Levi.  Eren was silent. Levi wondered where they were going. He also wondered why he was following a complete stranger who looked like he was from a bad 80s cartoon. 

"You really are a human, huh?" Eren asked, slowing for a second.

"Of course I am!" shouted Levi. He heard a rumbling close by, then a roar.

"You really shouldn't have shouted." said Eren, sounding nervous. The pounding restarted and got closer each time. _Boom, boom, boom._

"Hurry!" Eren shouted, tugging Levi along. "We're almost there."

Eren seemed panicked. The look in his eye was fearful. Levi decided to run as fast as he could, just in case there really was something to be afraid of. Soon, they came to a particularly large tree. The inside was hollowed out, just like the way Levi imagined. Eren opened the door. Inside, there was a fire going. That in itself wasn't smart, since it was the inside of a tree. The floor was covered in bark and wood shavings, along with mice scurrying everywhere. Levi wanted to vomit.

"Eren!" a girl came into view. She had similar features to Eren, the same pointy ears, but her features were darker and more mature. Jesus Christ, what had Levi gotten himself into?

"Mikasa, I'm home." said Eren. He took off the coat he had been wearing. It was now covered in dirt and leaves.

"Where-" began Mikasa, but she stopped cold. "Eren. That's the human."

" _The_ human?" Eren groaned. "Who knows about him?"

"Just the _entire fucking forest_." said Mikasa irritably. "What the hell, Eren? You know the consequences of harboring a human."

Levi was confused. Harboring a human? These guys really got into it, that was for sure. Levi just wanted to get the fuck out of there. He considered running away, but he wanted to hear what this was about first.

"Yes, I know." Eren ran a hand through his hair. It was rumpled and messy now, and it looked pretty sexy that way. _Snap out of it,_ Levi thought. He almost smacked himself.

"Tell me exactly what's going on, Mikasa," said Eren, "Please," he added as an afterthought.

"They felt him enter. The Council, you know, they can sense when something's not right. They alerted everybody. Everybody knows, Eren. Everyone's looking for him. Turn him in. Get the money. Or are you keeping him so the prize money is raised and we get more out of it? That's playing dirty, Eren." Mikasa stopped for a moment, then sighed. "I know that's not what you're doing. You're being stupid again."

"It's not right." Eren said, turning his head to the side. "He didn't do anything but walk in. As soon as I find out where he came from, I'll send him back."

"That might take weeks." said Mikasa. "We don't have the time. We'll be-"

"Shh." said Eren, holding his finger to his lips and turning to Levi. He sent a look to Mikasa that said,  _He doesn't need to know._ "Sorry. Are you confused?"

"No." said Levi sarcastically. Eren looked confused for a moment. Did the brat really not understand sarcasm? "Yes, I'm confused. What the hell is going on?"

"You won't believe me." said Eren doubtfully. Eren looked away for a moment, looking unsure, as if asking himself why he had even bothered to ask Levi whether or not he was confused.

"Probably not." said Levi, crossing his arms. "I'll probably run away when you're done, to be honest."

"Your funeral." said Eren before beginning. "Humans, they're amazing. They can make wonderful things. Things you wouldn't even begin to imagine. But they're taking away from nature. They're cutting down trees, ruining the atmosphere, and all that. I'm sure you've heard. Well, the Council doesn't like that. They think that all humans are to blame for ruining our forest and our air, so they've been killing them. They lure humans into this forest and kill them here. By the thousands."

"This forest is connected to every country on Earth." said Mikasa, picking up where Eren left off. "This is where everything that was different was driven into hiding. We're safe here. But people have been finding this place and chopping down trees and killing our citizens. So we 'execute' them. If you're caught..."

Levi was done. "Fucking lunatics." he said incredulously. "To think that you would be this elaborate-" He threw open the door and ran, ignoring the protests from Eren. Exactly what the hell kind of story was that? Was this some clever ploy to get him to recycle or some shit? Because it sure as hell wouldn't work on him.

"Where's the way out?"Levi muttered to himself, stopping to catch his breath. He laughed. "What a load of bullshit." Levi heard the pounding from before. What was that? It was getting closer. His instincts told him to run, but he stayed, curiosity getting the better of him. The trees parted. Levi screamed.

 

"I knew it." said Mikasa. "It's better this way, Eren." Eren was standing by the door, looking in the direction the human had run.

"But Mikasa-" Eren stopped. He heard a sound. A pounding. "Shit!" he cursed, and ran out the door. He hear Mikasa calling to him, telling him to stay and let it eat the human, but Eren ran. He didn't know why. He could be eaten himself. But there was something about that human he liked. He didn't want that human to die, and he didn't know why. He didn't know, and it was killing him not to know. What was it?

He burst through the trees just as a scream filled his ears. It was the human. Eren realized that he hadn't asked the human what his name was and decided to call him "Dumbass" for now. He saw the trees break as the titan pushed them out of his way, an eerie smile on his face. It was an expression of complete bliss. Eren saw blood on it's feet, most likely from an unfortunate deer,  and looked up. The titan was smiling down at one of them. Which one would it choose?

He saw Dumbass freeze  mid-scream as the titan's hand came down. Which one was it going to be? The new and interesting human, or the tasty and likely blue-raspberry flavored Eren? Time was at a standstill. The titan had made it's choice. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So who's it going to be? Find out next time! If you want to ask questions or just say hi, message me at temporary-name.tumblr.com or just leave a comment!
> 
> And if you liked it, don't forget to leave a kudos! Love


	3. In Which the Titan Compromises and Backstories Are Told

The titan's giant hand came down. Levi braced himself. The hand swooped over him and grabbed... someone behind him? He heard a yelp as Eren was lifted into the sky. His heart dropped to his stomach. Why did the brat follow him?

"Eren!" he shouted. He didn't know why. He barely knew him. Eren was insane. But this monster was impossible. It was there, lifting Eren into the sky. Levi wondered if he was dreaming, or perhaps hallucinating, If this was a dream, he had nothing to lose, right? He was also feeling indebted to the attractive brat.

He ran forward, unsure of why he was doing so, and reached the titan's foot. He was making too much noise; the titan looked down, that creepy smile was still plastered on it's face. He heard Eren shout something, and felt a steaming hot hand close around him. Immediately, he felt like he was being crushed.

"What the hell?" yelled Eren from the titan's other fist once Levi was within hearing distance. Talking was clearly difficult.

"This is a dream." Levi said shakily. "I'll wake up in the airport after this. What have I got to lose?" Levi looked like he was still trying to convince himself.

Eren started at him for a moment, dumbfounded. He quickly snapped out of it. "Think of it as a dream if you want." he said finally, prompted by the looming titan that was about to make them it's afternoon snack.

Levi heard growling. He also smelled bad breath coming from the titan. It smelled like rotting human corpses. All of a sudden, a pack of wolves jumped through the trees below them and snarled. The titan wasn't affected by them, instead it was trying to decide whether it should eat Eren or Levi first. The wolves barked, and suddenly they were clawing their way up the titan's leg. Levi heard the girl, Mikasa, yelling Eren's name.

The wolves reached the titan's neck just as it brought Eren to it's lips. Levi let out a strangled cry. A huge yellowish wolf ripped into the back of the titan's neck, tearing it to shreds and digging deeper with it's paws. The titan fell with the same expression it had always been wearing, with Levi and Eren still in it's grasp.

"Brace yourself!" called Eren. Levi wondered how he was supposed to brace himself inside a titan's fist, but soon he was on the ground, inside a hand that was quickly burning up. He felt the heat scorch him and struggled against it's grasp. Thankfully, it had gone limp, and Levi was able to escape without very many burns. He looked over to where Eren was standing, covered with burns and bruises but otherwise OK, and felt a strange rush of relief. Eren pointed to the bushes.

 _I might as well, since this is a dream_ , thought Levi, ducking into a bush just as a golden blonde with a bowl cut and a dirty blonde with a perma-scowl approached Eren. Mikasa followed behind.

"Eren-" she breathed, checking him all over for injuries. Eren laughed, looking genuinely happy. "I could have fought him, Eren, but you know, since Dad left, my magic hasn't been the same." she said, the words rushing out of her mouth. _So they're siblings_ , thought Levi.

"Yeah." was all Eren said.

"Eren, how stupid are you?" asked the bowl cut, hands on his hips.

"Sorry, Armin." said Eren apologetically. "I thought it had grabbed someone and I went to go help, but I guess I was wrong."

"I smell it again." said the dirty blonde, putting a hand on Armin's shoulder. "Is it the human everyone's talking about?"

"Not again, Jean." said Armin, rolling his eyes. "You think you smell humans all the time."

"No, but-" protested Jean, but Armin cut him off with a hand over his mouth.

"Shh." said Armin. Jean's face turned red and he nodded. From where Levi was in the bushes, he could only see their outlines and colors, no real details. He could barely tell Jean from Eren except for the fact that Eren was green. Levi wondered what kind of a dream this was, exactly.

For a few more minutes, the four of them spoke. After Jean and Armin left, Eren motioned for Levi to come out of the bushes.

"Are you okay?" asked Eren when he got there. Mikasa glared at Levi and moved a step closer to Eren, who didn't notice.

"Peachy." Levi replied. Eren smiled in relief. _He really doesn't know what sarcasm is, huh?_ thought Levi as they made their way back to the tree. Levi saw Eren whispering something to Mikasa.

"Oi, what are you whispering about?" Levi asked.

"Nothing." said Eren. Levi frowned. When they got to the tree, Mikasa whispered something to Eren before going inside.

Inside, it was toasty. Mikasa threw a bucket of water on the fire and sat down at the table. Eren sat down as well, so Levi sat down at the remaining chair.

"What's your name?" asked Eren.

"It's Levi." Levi said.

"Welcome to our home, Itslevi. Weird name." said Eren, leaning back in his chair.

"No, Eren, I think his name is Levi." said Mikasa, holding back a giggle.

"Oh. Welcome to our home, Levi." Eren smiled, then leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "Now, we need to talk."

"About?" asked Levi.

"About you." said Eren. "Where are you from?"

"America." said Levi. "In (name of city) City.

" Eren nodded. "I have to go somewhere." he said. "Once I get there, I can tell them where you're from and ask when the forest will be there next."

"Eren, I don't want to be left alone with him." said Mikasa. "I'll go. Don't do anything to Eren or I'll shove a knife up your ass." she said to Levi, glaring. Levi's eyes widened but he managed to keep his poker-face.

"Mikasa." said Eren, but he was smiling. "Don't take too long. If he asks why you're there, tell him you just really like America or something." Mikasa nodded and left, her scarf trailing behind her. Now it was just Eren and Levi, alone. This was going to be awkward.

 

Eren had told Mikasa about Levi thinking that the forest was a dream. She said to just play along; that way, Levi wouldn't try to run again. If they went to old man Pixis, he would tell them when the forest would reappear in America. Hopefully, not more than a few days. The forest was inconstant, sometimes going from Germany to Ireland and back to Germany the next day, and sometimes not going to Germany for years.

"Levi, what do you like to do?" asked Eren conversationally, wanting to break the weird silence.

Levi laughed. "After all that, you want to ask about my hobbies? I like to teach."

"Teach what?" asked Eren.

"French." said Levi, visibly relaxing.

"I've been there before. France, I mean." said Eren. In truth, he had been there countless times. They might have been in France right then, for all he knew.

"How old are you?"

"Thirty-four." said Levi. "An old coot."

"I'm two hundred and fifty." said Eren. Levi looked taken aback for a second.

"I guess I should have expected that." said Levi, cocking his head to the side.

Eren was silent for a moment, wondering if he had said too much. He wondered how far he could push Levi before he freaked out again.

"Tell me something you've never told anyone else." said Eren. After seeing Levi's expression, he quickly added, "And I'll tell you something in return. A get-to-know-you sort of thing."

Levi was quiet, and Eren could feel worry build up inside him. Had he asked too much? Levi thought this was a dream, so he wouldn't worry about it too much, right?

"Since it's a dream." Levi muttered. Eren's heart soared. "I used to be in a gang. A really bad gang. I refused to kill people, but there are worse things than death." Levi grimaced. "I would shoot their toes off, their ears, whatever. Anyway, when I tried to leave, they threatened to kill me. So I shot them, just blindly lashing out. One died. Several were severely injured and were in the hospital for weeks." Levi stopped there, but Eren could tell there was more. "Now you go."

"When I was nine, my sister was kidnapped." Eren began, already getting lost in the memory, "I tried to tell our dad, but he was busy, and Mom was out. So I went out and searched for her, leaving behind a note for my dad. When I found her, the kidnappers were talking about putting her on display. They were human. I had a knife hidden in my back pocket and I grabbed it, ran out, and killed them."

Both of them were silent for a while, two murderers sitting together in one room, lost in their thoughts. It was Levi who spoke up.

"You did what you had to do." he said simply.

"And you were scared." said Eren. "You did what anybody would have done."

Silently, they disagreed with each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Jean should have been a centaur, but can you imagine? Wow.
> 
> Also, I don't know how to get rid of that second note after this one, so please don't pay attention to it!


	4. Author's Note

I think I'm going to completely rewrite this fic to make it a lot better than it is. I'll have to finish the fic I'm currently working on, but I think I really want to finish this fic. However, I don't think I can finish it with the poor writing I saw when I went over it. So, as I said before, I'm going to rewrite it and make it better after I finish the fic I'm currently on.

**Author's Note:**

> So should I continue? Tell me what you think!


End file.
